Re: Recent article “Replacing Sundre physicians will be an uphill battle” by Simon Ducatel.
I agree with the headline but for different reasons.
A better balance of information would have been useful for those trying to understand the doctor/government battle in Alberta.
Dr. Michelle Warren seems a bit conflicted as her partnership in the Moose and Squirrel Medical Clinic has a website with a bent towards attracting medical students and residents, while her position as president-elect of the Alberta Medical Association is painting Alberta as the worst place to practise.
An internet search indicates Sundre has two medical clinics with 16 accomplished physicians listed.
This is twice as many physicians per capita as the rest of Canada or in fact the nearby community of Didsbury which lists eight.
The 16 physicians in a 40-hour week could schedule a 15 minute appointment for everyone in Sundre in less than two weeks.
I would hope any physician (in fact lawyer or plumber) would check out competition and potential clients before relocating.
With COVID keeping doctor visits to a bare minimum it must be stressful keeping a medical clinic profitable.
With all the above in mind I feel the five doctors may be leaving Sundre because they haven’t enough patients to be profitable and not the shabby way we Albertans are supposedly treating them.
Gil Dalziel,
Didsbury
